Part 2: Project 5 - Linocuts

I began this project with an A4 soft cut lino sheet and a set of lino cutting tools. My Husband made me a bench hook using wood we had, which worked really well.

Here is my working space:

I really enjoyed this exercise of dividing the sheet into squares and using different cutting tool heads for each square. The process of carving is really theraputic which is great for the current time we are in.

Beginnings of carving:

I am finding the carvings so tactile and love the marks that I have made so far.

My finished A4 sheet, using each blade at least twice in different marks and lines:

I am really pleased with how this came out, there were just a few squares that I wasn't happy with. They turned out to be the ones with the finest blades and the straight cutting blade which I didn't know how to use properly.

Blades I used and in which squares:

My Favourite Squares:

I really like these squares the best because the marks came out so pretty and tactile. Most of the squares look pretty good, but these are my favourites. The depth of the carved lines and how the blades glided over the lino felt really good.

Proofing my lino:

I then did my first proofing using a soft pencil and a thin sheet of marker paper (I didn't have any tracing paper)
I loved seeing my marks come to life as I rubbed the pencil over them. It's hard to see from this photo but the actual sheet of paper with the rubbings on looks quite striking with the marks.

Squares that didn't show very well:

Fine v blade (blade no. 1)

Straight blade (blade no. 5)

Fine v blade (blade no. 1)

Straight cutting blade again, similar to square 8.

I noticed right away that the squares with the finer blades and the straight blade were the ones that showed up the least, so I knew I needed to try again with this and so went back and carved again.

Second attempts:

On the second attempt with the fine v shaped tool, I soon realised that I could press harder and get a much nicer line and marks. I was much happier with this attempt and it changed my mind about liking this particular blade.

This was the straight cutting blade and I still didn't know how to use it and made quite a mess with it. This is one I will need to look into how to use properly.

This was the blade no. 1 the fine v shape. It was fun to carve different types of marks to square 1.
Square 19 was the straight blade again and so I didn't bother to re-carve that as I still wasn't sure how to use it.

Second proofing:

This time I just proofed the squares that failed the first time. They came out much better this time and so I felt ready to move on to printing.

Printing:

For printing I chose the Schmincke waterbased inks as I didn't want to deal with chemicals. The set I chose were primary colours including white and black. For paper, I had newsprint and cartridge paper to hand to start with and marker paper for test prints.

It took me a while to get the hang of how much ink to use so here are my attempts. I started with yellow as I wanted to use a bright, happy colour.

This first print was on newsprint and was a disaster. The paper is so flimsy I ended up dropping it onto the lino and it was totally wonky, so I went and lightly printed it anyway and then moved on to a different paper.

I then chose Canson marker paper because its see through so I could practice lining it up properly. These came out much better and gave me a bit more confidence to try another paper next time.

Right is a ghost print.

**Updated Photos:

I then moved onto Winsor and Newton cartridge paper, I was really pleased with how this one came out and then took a ghost print which is pictured on the right.

I then tried black ink, again starting with Canson marker paper to practice lining it up. I liked how this one came out, the carvings really pop off the paper.

**Updated Photos:

I then moved onto Winsor and Newton cartridge paper and this printed nicely but was messy around the edges. Right is a ghost print.

Reflections:

I am really pleased with how my lino carving mark making prints came out. The black really makes the marks pop out from the page and instantly made me think of Zebra markings. They definitely make me think more of fur and animal markings so this might be something I explore in the next project.

Since I am fairly new to lino cutting, I am not sure how the marks will translate to different subjects and so I am looking forward to experimenting with this in the next project.

Part 2: Project 6 - Single Colour Linocut

Brainstorming my 'Place' :
Initially for this project I wanted to focus on nature and since we can't go anywhere during lockdown I thought my garden would be the perfect place instead. We have been putting a lot more energy into our garden and since it is currently Spring it's looking really pretty. I began by making the most of the sunny weather and took lots of photo's. Here are just  few of them:

However, I am also considering another idea which is Zoo animals. My mark making from the first project really had me thinking of Zebra's and animals with distinctive marks on them. We had a trip to the zoo last year and so I have some photos from that day I could also use. Here's a couple of those:

My third idea was re-visiting my photos from Henstead Exotic Gardens, which I went to last Summer. I took lot's of photos, really focusing on the patterns and textures of all the beautiful plants. Here are a couple of my favourites and I have printed more for my sketchbook:

Photo reference in sketchbook:

(These are all my own photos)

Ideas:

I love the shapes in the banana leaves, the way they unfurl from a twisted leaf as they grow and the vibrant colours and patterns of the leaves.

Succulents are so pretty and the shapes and colours vary so much, I love the shapes of their leaves and the intricate patterns of their centres.

Final thoughts.

For my linocut I chose A5 sized soft cut lino and looked at my previous test cuts from project 5 to see which blades to use. My favourite were 1, 2, 4 and 10.

I didn't have any black paper to test my design so instead used what I had which was grey. Here are my first two attempts. I used white pencil to make my cut out lines.

I went way too detailed on these first ones, made it really hard for myself.

I continued on thinking it would work out and did a tracing, proof and first cuts. I realised it didn't look right so attempted to cut more, proofed and ended up making a mess up.

My tracing paper turned out to be too thick and wouldn't transfer to the lino with the carbon paper properly, which didn't help my difficulties. I ended up sketching it on by hand.

First attempt lino cut using 1, 2 and 10 cutting tools.

I dug too deep in this area and went through the lino.

Proofs:

I used Canson marker paper to create my proofs because it is nice and thin. 

Top proof is from my first cuts.

Bottom proof is from my second cuts.

I tweaked the middle of the lino cut an did a further proof of just that area to see if it was improved.

This first attempt at my lino cut was not very successful and so I decided to have another go at it and simplify my design.

Lino Second Attempt:

This time I decided to put my reference photo into Procreate and change the colours, making it black and white so that I could see the shapes much easier. I also reversed the image to help me draw it the correct way round.

Original image.

Reversed and converted to black and white.

This time I made the dark areas all dark and made the whites thicker. 

This was much more successful.

Proofing:

Top: First attempts

Bottom: Adding more detail

Final Lino Cut:

I was really pleased with how this attempt came out so then went on to take prints in three different colours. I started with a burgundy which I mixed myself, this is closest to the original succulent colour so that's why I chose this colour.

I used a mix of Zerkall paper, Winsor and Newton cartridge paper and 

Strathmore printmaking paper for these.

Second Colour:

For my next colour I decided to mix a lovely teal green because succulents often have this colouring and I felt it would work well.

I had some initial issues with print quality and slipping but eventually got a nice print.

My best print.

**Updated Photo:

Third Colour:

For my last colour I decided on black to mimic the original image turned into black and white.

Reflection:
Initially I found this project quite hard but I think that had a lot to do with the way I approached it. Once I found a way that worked for me I was pleased with my design and really pleased with the prints I made. My favourite are the green ones, on the Zerkall paper they look really effective. It was good to test the different colours and I enjoyed mixing colours to get the look I wanted. I'm looking forward to doing the next lino print project.